Lydia Wills, formerly the head of the Paradigm Literary division, has formed Lydia Wills LLC, a literary and multimedia agency. She will “oversee and manage the daily activities of several new media and web-based ventures” undertaken in partnership with Neal Baer. Baer, who is executive producer of Law & Order SVU, is also represented by Lydia for his three book deal with Kensington. She will continue to represent her literary clients, including Denis Leary, Steven Johnson, Daniel Mendelsohn, Matt Taibbi, and John Dean among others. Amanda Stewart has left Severn House after 11 years as publishing director. At Penguin Canada, […]
Personnel
People, Etc.
Jordan Fenn has joined McClelland & Stewart as publisher of a joint Fenn/McClelland & Stewart imprint, which will focus on hockey books. The first title will be the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Championship book scheduled for this June, with additional new titles are scheduled for this fall and next year. For the past 15 years Fenn was publisher of Fenn Publishing Company, which shut down in the wake of its parent company HB Fenn’s bankruptcy earlier this year. Both the NYT and AP offer extensive obits on Owen Laster, who died yesterday of cancer. In a statement WME literary department head […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Former Executive Vice President and Worldwide Head of Literary Operations for William Morris Agency Owen Laster, 72, died this morning after a short illness. Laster represented a distinguished and diverse roster of bestselling and literary authors, ranging from Ralph Ellison, Chaim Potok, Robert Penn Warren, Gay Talese, Edward Albee, and Gore Vidal, to James Michener, Dominic Dunne, Susan Isaacs, Andrew Grove, William Diehl, and Judith McNaught. A New Jersey native, Laster graduated from Syracuse University, and after serving in the Army worked at William Morris for over forty years. Laura Nolan has joined Paradigm as a literary agent and will […]
People, Authors, Etc.
Knopf publisher Sonny Mehta will receive the London Book Fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing. Nancy Planitzer is joining Greater Talent Network as an account executive as part of their Publishers Speakers Bureaus division (which works with both SImon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group). She was formerly an account coordinator with the Macmillan Speakers Bureau. Franklin & Siegal has been appointed literary scout for China Citic Press in Beijing. Michael Chabon and his wife Ayelet Waldman are co-writing and executive producing a drama for HBO, currently called Hobgoblin, about “a motley group of con-men and magicians who use […]
People, Etc.
Kelle Ruden will move over to agent director for the Random House Speakers Bureau, starting March 14. She will work across the Random House imprints to support the current roster of author speakers and expand the program. Book critic and social-media consultant Bethanne Patrick is joining Shelf Awareness as editor of their forthcoming consumer publication. Guy LeCharles Gonzalez has joined Media Source Inc. as Director, Content & Digital Product Development, overseeing Library Journal, School Library Journal, and The Horn Book, starting today. Previously he was Director, Programming & Business Development for Digital Book World. Elaine McQuade has been appointed Head […]
Crown Retires Doubleday Religion, Plus More People News
The Crown Publishing Group is retiring Doubleday Religion as an imprint, and will publish all Catholic-interest titles under the existing Image Books imprint (established in 1954). Trace Murphy continues as editor-in-chief of Image (and will still acquire for Harmony as well), now reporting to Steve Cobb, whose title modified to president and publisher of Waterbrook Multnomah and Image Books. Image’s editorial, art and production staff will remain in New York, but marketing, publicity, and sales administration will be run out of the Colorado Springs office under associate publisher Carie Freimuth. Crown deputy publisher Michael Palgon writes in an internal memo […]